Elemental Force

Video may have killed the radio star, but MP3 playlists still cant seem to get past the classic hip-hop mix tape. One of the stalwart soldiers in keeping real mixing and scratching alive is the Valleys own DJ Element.

The dope deckmaster and resident of weekly hip-hop night The Blunt Club always conjures up a seamless mix of head-nod-inducing breakbeats spiced out with precision vinyl cutting, as exemplified by the turntable wizardry on his latest funk odyssey and mix CD, FreeStyle Session Japan.

Element is sure to rock the bodies that rock the party when he celebrates the discs release during a special edition of the Blunt Club on Thursday, July 7, at Yucca Tap Room, 29 West Southern Avenue in Tempe. His Armory Massive homies -- including DJ Felt1, King D., Black Ran, and Hektik -- will slide in from San Diego to help throw down on the wheels of steel.